Student-athletes convene for special guest speaker

Feb 20, 2013

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Just over 200 Golden Eagle student-athletes
gathered recently to listen to guest speaker Katherine H. Koestner
as she discussed the pressures of student life and the challenges
to do the right thing and act as role models to fellow students on
campus.

Katie Koestner has presented to more than one million
students in the United States and is Executive Director of Campus
Outreach Services and Executive Director of Take Back the Night
Foundation. Katie was the first victim of date rape to speak
nationally and publicly. She told anyone who would listen about her
experience at The College of William and Mary.

Katie appeared on the cover of Time magazine in June of
1991. HBO made a movie about her story in 1993. Katie has appeared
on several morning, daytime and late night shows including The
Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News, and Good Morning America.
Katie has also given interviews to countless national and regional
publications, highlighted by the Washington Post, New York Times,
Chicago Tribune and the Journal of Higher Education.

Just like any busy athlete about to start her senior season,
time is a precious thing. We were required to attend a speaker, and
to say I was hesitant about giving up my time would be an
understatement. But after listening to Katie Koestner’s
story, I think we all would love to have more speakers visit us on
campus.

Katie had a really strong message, and date
rape is something that happens a lot more frequently than any of us
really realized. She gave someone the chance to believe that we
should say something, that we need to be the ones to step in and
prevent abuse from happening. If we make the effort as prominent
figures on campus, others will follow.

Ms. Koestner kept us interested throughout the speech using
dry and sarcastic humor. It was a really controversial topic, but
it was powerful and her approach made us comfortable which helped
us actually learn from what she was saying.

When Katie started speaking, we all knew where it was
leading, but we didn’t know how she would take us there. She
transitioned from comedy to drama seamlessly and she used long
pauses to emphasize how intense her experience was.

Throughout her talk, she specifically addressed the male
athletes, challenging them to look at themselves and ask what they
would do. She asked: If you’re at a party and you see a girl
so drunk....as a guy, would you stand up to prevent someone from
taking advantage, or would you just let it happen? She just hit
home how one specific person can make a difference. It was pretty
powerful, and it changes your life forever.

We can make a difference. In the college scene, stuff
happens, but it doesn’t have to. It shouldn’t happen,
we need to make a difference and prevent what happened to Katie
from ever happening to anyone at Tech.

-- Claudia Harke

It was clear that those who were in attendance were deeply
impacted by Katie’s story. In a Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee Meeting afterwards, the representatives discussed the
importance of gathering all of the student-athletes together at
least once a semester for events like these. It really bonded the
group, and highlighted the family atmosphere Tennessee Tech is able
to create. They discussed how Katie could relate to what they lived
on a daily basis, and that the topic was relevant to what students
go through.

For more information on Katherine Koestner and Campus
Outreach Services or Take Back the Night Foundation please visit
the links below.